Tilopa's Wisdom: His Life and Teachings on the Ganges Mahamudra

"The lineage of the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism begins with Tilopa, who is said to have received the teachings of Mahamudra directly from the buddha Vajradhara. Tilopa expressed his realization in the form of spiritual songs, pithy yet beautiful poems that he sung spontaneously. In this book, Khenchen Thrangu, a contemporary Karma Kagyu master, first tells the story of Tilopa's life and explains the lessons we can learn from it. Then he provides verse-by-verse commentary on one of Tilopa's songs,the Mahamudra Upadesha, also known as the Ganges Mahamudra, and explains its precious instructions for realizing Mahamudra, the pinnacle of the Buddhist path to enlightenment. This path focuses on the direct experience of the nature of one's mind, which in this tradition is the primary means to realize ultimate reality and thus attain buddhahood. Thrangu Rinpoche speaks plainly, directly, and without using any technical jargon to Westerners eager to learn the fundamentals of Mahamudra from a recognized master. As Thrangu Rinpoche says, "Mahamudra is a practice that can be done by anyone. It is an approach that engulfs any practitioner with tremendous blessings that make it very effective and easy to implement. This is especially true in our present time and especially true for Westerners because in the West there are very few obstacles in the practice of Mahamudra""--
Accessible and practical teachings on both the life of Tilopa, who founded the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, and one of his most important texts on the practice of Mahamudra.Most traditions of Mahamudra meditation can be traced back to the mahasiddha Tilopa and his Ganges Mahamudra, a &;song of realization&; that he sang to his disciple Naropa on the banks of the Ganges River more than a thousand years ago. In this book, Khenchen Thrangu, a beloved Mahamudra teacher, tells the extraordinary story of Tilopa&;s life and explains its profound lessons. He follows this story with a limpid and practical verse-by-verse commentary on the Ganges Mahamudra, explaining its precious instructions for realizing Mahamudra, the nature of one&;s mind. Throughout, Thrangu Rinpoche speaks plainly and directly to Westerners eager to receive the essence of Mahamudra instructions from an accomplished teacher.